Red Flags For Dual Diagnosis Disorders

Red Flags The term Dual Diagnosis or "co-occurring" disorders is meant to describe the existence of a psychiatric diagnosis, such as depression or bi-polar with the simultaneous experience of chemical dependency or substance abuse. When a person is depressed they often experience...

  • Feel angry, sad, perhaps you are crying a lot and it doesn't pass; it seems to hang on.
  • Irritability, are angry, short tempered and might overreact to people and situations
  • Feeling ashamed, guilty or worthless. There may be no reason for these feelings. At other times there may be a reason for these feelings, yet they are more intense than expected.
  • Loss of confidence and it doesn't return. Similar to having the rules change in the middle of a game - you are suddenly not sure of yourself and your ability.
  • Feeling that life has lost it's meaning, that maybe nothing good is going to happen ever again. Things that meant something to you don't anymore. Things that were pleasurable are no longer interesting. Almost like you don't care anymore.
  • Negative attitude most of the time; about most things, and in most situations
  • Numb feelings, as if the feeling or emotional part of you got "switched off"
  • Life has become hard to live, as if it takes too much energy to do even simple things
  • Wanting to be left alone and isolated.
  • Difficulty making decisions. Concentrating on things may seem very difficult or even impossible. You might be more forgetful than normal.
  • Dangerous or self-mutilating behaviors such as cutting, scratching, or burning.
  • Can't sleep, can't stay awake, go to sleep then wake and can't go back to sleep. General disrupted patterns of sleep.
  • Eating has changed; you might eat a lot or a little, but it is different than when you felt like yourself.
  • Restlessness, fatigue, generally too tired, even though you might have had enough sleep
  • Thoughts about death, feel like dying, might have thoughts about suicide

Sometimes, there is an upward or bi-polar "swing" in the way you feel, then you...

  • Feel like you are very wise and know everything, you know exactly what you are doing
  • Sometimes feel irritable and have trouble getting along with family, friends and people in authority
  • Have ideas about what you can or cannot do and both are not realistic
  • Engage in high-risk situations often involving money, sex and seeking thrills
  • Have rapid, racing thoughts, can't talk enough about any one subject and then jump to another.
  • Go non-stop. Run around and accomplish a lot, but still need to do more
  • Feel you don't need sleep

Often when adolescents are suffering from a mood disorder, they begin using drugs, alcohol, or other substances as an attempt to find a way to compensate or feel better. Unfortunately, substance use only makes things worse. Some times the mood problem is caused by the use of substances. Often it is impossible to tell which problem is the original or first one. In any case, getting treatment as soon as possible is important because these disorders "help" or make each other to get worse. The consequences are severe and if you don't get help, you will not get better, only worse. Mixing substance use with a mood disorder can result in...

  • Arrests for criminal activity or simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time and with the wrong people
  • Hospitalization and/or emergency room visits for substance related problems such as overdose or poisoning
  • Damage to relationships with friends and loved ones that might take a long time and a lot of effort to heal
  • Failure in school, at work, or in related activities making recovery and healing ever more difficult with time
  • Injury or death from violent or high risk activities